Runner brings Bangladesh’s first 165cc motorcycles

Runner Automobiles seems to be on a roll. Hot on the heels of its announcement of bringing the famed off-road motorcycles of KTM to Bangladesh, it has now come up with a new two-wheeler with the highest engine displacement the country has seen yet.

Called BOLT 165 R, the motorcycle has a race-tuned 165cc engine, dual disc braking system, LED lights, inverted suspensions and digital speedometer, all under a Tk 169,000 price tag.

Launched in different outlets of the capital on Tuesday, the motorcycle comes with a Tk 14,000 discount if the payment is made in full, either in cash or through credit card.

Besides, customers can also enjoy a 24 months' equal instalment facility at just 1 per cent interest rate, the lowest in the industry.

BOLT 165 R joins Runner's stable of motorcycles, whose engine capacity range from 80cc to 150cc. It also markets American brand UM and Italian brands Vespa and Aprilia.

Runner Automobiles, whose shares closed yesterday 2.63 per cent higher at Tk 50.2, started producing motorcycles of 165cc to 500cc in late 2018 using a combination of imported parts and raw materials.

With a target to diversify the export volume, the company set about selling these motorcycles in Bhutan, Myanmar, India's northeastern states, Africa and the Middle East.

The Bangladeshi brand, which got listed in the stock exchange in 2019, has already gained popularity in Nepal within a very short period.

Just two years ago, Bangladesh was dependent on imports to meet 95 per cent of its demand for motorcycles.

But the situation has completely reversed: today, about 96 per cent of the two-wheelers plying on the roads are either locally manufactured or assembled, according to the industry people.

Seven firms -- Japanese brands Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha, India's Bajaj, TVS and Hero, and Runner Automobiles of Bangladesh -- have made the country almost self-sufficient in motorcycle manufacturing or assembly in the fast-growing market.

Operators now predict that the market would grow manifold in the next two-three years because of rising income, the steady growth of the economy and favourable policy and tariff structure despite the pandemic hampering production in the last four months.

With its offer of cost efficiency and travel convenience through traffic-congested streets, the motorcycle market has been witnessing double-digit growth for the past several years.

The introduction of ride-sharing services in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Cox's Bazar in recent years has also contributed to a rise in demand for motorbikes.

The market began to expand fast from fiscal 2016-17 when the government slashed the supplementary duty by 25 percentage points to 20 per cent on the import of the two-wheeler's components to encourage domestic manufacturing.

To boost the industry's growth further, the government has formulated the Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018.

It aims to take motorcycle production up to one million units by 2027 with half of them coming from local manufacturing and supply quality motorcycles to domestic and overseas markets at competitive prices.

Market insiders said about 5 lakh motorcycles were sold in fiscal 2018-19, up 25 per cent from 4 lakh a year earlier. It means nearly 1,500 motorcycles are being purchased every day.

Assuming the price of a motorbike is Tk 100,000 on average, total sales figure in monetary terms would be about Tk 5,000 crore, which is almost equivalent to the market size of four-wheelers.

"Continuation of concessionary duties on import of raw materials is helping the sector grow rapidly," Hafizur Rahman Khan, chairman of Runner Automobiles, the first local company that began manufacturing motorbikes in the country more than a decade ago, told The Daily Star earlier.

This high demand has encouraged market players to set up either manufacturing facilities or assembling plants to reduce prices and have a bigger share of the growing market.

However, the motorcycle makers' association continues to demand an 81 per cent cut in bike registration fees in next fiscal year's budget as the purchasing power of the general mass has seen a sharp fall due to the pandemic.

The registration cost of a motorcycle, including registration fees, road tax, supplementary duties and other charges, is about Tk 22,000 on an average, which is about 25 per cent of the price of a 100cc motorcycle, the best-selling engine capacity.

The association wants the fee to be fixed at Tk 4,000.

Moreover, motorcycle makers have urged the government to continue exempting VAT on sales of locally-made parts until 2027 to keep prices low as the purchasing power of people has seen a sharp fall due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The exemption provided by the Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018 is set to expire in the outgoing fiscal year. At least 30 per cent of the components used in building motorcycles are manufactured locally.